Are home-grown renewables the answer to the energy crisis?
Residents of the UK have been struggling under the effects of an energy crisis since 2021. These challenges have clearly been compounded by conflict in the middle east and resulting restrictions on shipping and trade. The shock of this has revealed the urgent need for energy independence and security – a resilient, reliable, and low […]
Community Energy Day hosted by DESNZ
On Wednesday 18th March Energise South Downs celebrated Community Energy Day with other community energy groups, hosted by the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Great British Energy. Our CEO Catriona presented as part of the ‘solar workshop’. Although ESD are fairly new kids on the block, she was able to share the learning […]
Supplementary analysis of the 7th carbon budget
On the 11th of March the Climate Change Committee published a supplementary analysis for the Seventh Carbon Budget. The report was published amid surging oil and gas prices after the US and Israel attacked Iran, which has triggered chaos on international energy markets. It tests the Committee’s cost and energy security conclusions against different scenarios. […]
Reaching out to local business owners at First Friday
At the First Friday networking event in Petersfield on 6th March, Energise South Downs CEO Catriona Cockburn was invited to speak to local business owners. Cat gave an introduction to community energy, and outlined ESD’s constitution and governance, stakeholders, and business model. She then introduced the share offer and detailed how it works, explaining that ESD raised […]
Time to ‘Up The Energy’ on community power
Time to turn UP THE ENERGY on community power! On Wednesday 4th March, a coalition of organisations handed in an open letter – signed by Energise South Downs – calling on Government to Up The Energy on community power. A new energy system is already taking shape – cleaner, fairer and powered by communities. Renewables […]
What’s in the Warm Homes Plan?
In January 2026, government published its Warm Homes Plan, which it claims will cut bills, tackle fuel poverty, create jobs, deliver energy security and help tackle the climate crisis. Buildings are the second-largest source of emissions in the UK, after transport, and fossil-fuel heating is by far the largest contributor to those emissions. Reliance on […]
A Second Wind: repowering onshore wind
More than half of Great Britain’s current onshore wind fleet is expected to face end-of-life decisions by 2035, meaning developers will be facing difficult decisions whether to decommission, life extend or repower. Repowering could add an additional 690 MW of onshore wind capacity by 2035, increasing to a possible 6 GW by 2050 as more […]
The Great British Energy Local Power Plan
On 10th February Great British Energy and government published the Local Power Plan, backed by funding of up to £1 billion, to help support locally-owned clean energy generation projects such as solar on community buildings like libraries, leisure centres and miners’ welfare clubs. The plan is set to deliver the biggest public investment in community […]
What Hambledon told us about its future energy landscape
In October 2025, residents of Hambledon Parish took part in a Future Energy Landscapes workshop to explore a key question: How might Hambledon power its community using locally generated renewable energy? The workshop format was designed by The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to support informed discussion amongst residents, using local data to help people understand how different energy technologies work, […]
Energise South Downs’ Community Energy Handbook
Our Community Energy Handbook is a practical guide for anyone interested in bringing the power of community energy to life across the South Downs and beyond. This free resource is designed for everyone – from local residents and community groups to councils, landowners, and especially businesses looking to make a positive change. If you’ve ever […]